Jackson Hole

In case you hadn’t heard, Jackson Hole got hammered with snow last season. Three hundred forty-six inches of fluff blew in between Jan. 1 and April 6, when the mountain closed, making it the deepest winter in 20 years. So there’s that. Then there’s the terrain. Forty-degree steeps in the Alta chutes. Thirty-foot leaps off Corbet’s Couloir. Technical glades in Saratoga Bowl. Some of the best and easiest-to-access backcountry anywhere. “Trees, cliffs, steeps, snowfall—what a great place to explore!” says one reader. It all nabs the resort the No. 1 rank for Challenge. But Jackson isn’t only about the skiing. Massive views of Grand Teton National Park garner it a No. 3 for Scenery; archways made of elk antlers, classic watering holes like the Cowboy Bar, and a more laid-back, we’re-not-in-Aspen vibe earn it another No. 3 for its charming Western Character. —Gordy Megroz

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What’s new » Direct air service from New York and Seattle.

Dinner pick » Take a gondola ride with heated blankets and hot cocoa for the kids to Couloir for Chef Wes Hamilton’s delicious, locally sourced fare.

Après spot » We’ve said it before, but the Mangy Moose is still the best après bar…anywhere.

The new motto for resorts this season just might be All for One, One for All, as four of the biggest names in the sport have banded together to offer a unique, unified ski pass. The new Mountain Collective pass, working with Liftopia, offers eight days of skiing at Alta, Aspen/Snowmass, Jackson Hole, and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows for $349.

A few strategies for finding the best airfare to your next ski destination.

Getting to ski resorts has never been easier. This year, for example, Steamboat’s airport added connections to San Francisco and Washington-Dulles, Mammoth added Denver and Las Vegas, and Jackson Hole added Washington D.C. (DCA, BWI, and IAD). Adding Denver and Las Vegas is an especially big move for Mammoth: it opens massive doors to the Midwest and East.